New!

mischievious.little.dog

2011-11-17T19:00:00.000-06:00

this is an understatement... Capri has been so crazy lately but she is so cute, how can you ~~not~~ get mad at her right? I am very thankful to have my sweet little fur baby! It makes living in a one bedroom apartment two hours from home a little more bearable! But back to why she is on Santa's naughty list.... in the last two weeks, she has pee'd on my bed, torn up anything she could reach, she ignores me when I am talking to her and she's gotten into trash in the house. Usually, my sweet little 'Rika is just about perfect- she greets me when I come through the door and showers me with sweet little kisses-- she even snuggles up with me every night. So naturally when she started acting out, I was a little shocked. I was blind sided by this change in character..is it the same as terrible two's for toddlers because there are some definite similarities in behaviors going on here...Being a parent is 'ruff ( haha couldn't resist) but I love this sweet baby girl!

Even though I am complaining about my ~~adorable~~ mischievious pet, am I allowed to say that she is the most precious little thing ever?!?! I guess I am kinda partial huh!?

that is all for now, much love

it's that time of the year (again)

2011-11-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

Let me start by saying, I truly enjoy college. Would it be more enjoyable if going to school was all I did ( no ~~work~~, no ~~business~~)...yes, but we can't have our cake and eat it too so here I am, full time student, part time teaching aide, and full time small business operator.
Life is ~~busy~~ heck-tech, but I love it.
My college experience has been (for the most part) fun and rewarding. I am finally nearing the ~~end~~ of all the boring, core classes and getting into my education classes. This is exciting for two reasons:
a) I am getting college credit to show off my creative side, and
b) I am that much closer to graduation. (my families pocketbook and my brain are equally excited for that.

Going to Sam has been awesome- I love the campus, I love the people, I love the professors.... what I do not love is registering for classes. The process of registering for classes has got to be one of the most ridiculous and time consuming things I have ever had to do... For those of you who have had to go through this process at any college, you understand. You would think that this being my sixth time to register for college classes, I would be used to it by now-- wrong. You forget how (insert really good word for crappy) this process can be. It's not like it is hard to log on and register for classes, it's just the little things that get under your skin. Like a class you need being full, or having a last name that starts with Y so you are one of the last people to register... So as I am sitting here waiting to be able to register, this is the tangent I am on for the day. happy registering!

hang in there y'all

2011-11-10T16:00:00.000-06:00

okay, well I am currently in the process of updating our blog that has been ~~basically~~ completely abandoned this semester... this saddens me to no end because I love blogging. Even though it is only November, I am making my New Year's resolution-- BLOG MORE! I promise to do a better job everyone! I have so much new stuff to blog about and I plan on spending my entire weekend writing..writing..and writing ( all of course, because I have nothing better to do-tragic isn't it?!) hope everyone is doing ~~great~~ AWESOME! new stuff will be here soon so.. keep your eyes open!

Homemade Icing Recipe

2011-11-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

( I use this icing for most everything I bake-- depending on the flavor of cake you bake and what you prefer, I usually change out the jello flavor I use. For example, if I make a triple chocolate dirt cake-- and yes, it is as good as it sounds-- I use french vanilla pudding mix instead of the strawberry jello. Other than that, everything else stays the same.)

the best icing ever:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. butter
1 c. powdered sugar
3 c. milk
2 sm. pkg. instant strawberry jello
12 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Cream together cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. In separate bowl mix together milk, jello, and Cool Whip. Add cream cheese mixture. Chill.

(you can find the original recipe here. my version originated from this site but changes a little each time I make it.)

Happy Baking!

I'm glad your mine..

2011-09-18T22:13:00.001-05:00

Last Monday, my great uncle lost his battle with cancer. lets stop right there....most people hear 'great uncle' and they think "oh, the uncle you see once every 3 years at Christmas"....wrong. you see, my family is a different kind of family. we are the family where your papaw drives you to school every morning and tells you old stories. we are the family who gets way too loud over a game of dominoes on a Saturday night. we are the family that loves great uncles like they are their own grandpas. we are the family that loves unconditionally.
My Uncle Dennis attended volleyball and softball games regularly of mine and my cousin kaylynn's. And you can bet that if my papaw was yelling at us for messing up, Uncle Dennis was right there with him askin "why didn't you swing at that strike" or telling us "you hit that ball too hard". He wanted us to succeed at whatever it was we were doing. He treated us as if we were his own grandkids and we never doubted just how much he loved or cared for each of us. He loved to joke and play around and he was always up to some sort of mischief that was sure to make everyone laugh! But most importantly he loved his family and I know he is looking out for each and every one of us now!
whenever you lose a loved one, it is hard. there is no denying that. but having a family like ours makes it easier. after the funeral, we all went back to his daughter's house for dinner and visiting.... and that is time well spent in my opinion. I loved getting to visit with my family, sharing stories and laughing with one another. Getting to spend quality time with your family-- those people who are there no matter what, loving and caring, & dropping anything & everything to help you out..... It blows my mind just how wonderful my family is. But it is people like my Uncle Dennis I have to thank for my family.. People like him who taught us how to love one another, support each other and that family is above all. I know that he was happy when he got to heaven. happy that he was no longer hurting. happy that he got to go be with his bride... but most of all he was happy to see that his family had come together to love, comfort and support one another just as he would have done for any one of us! To all of my family, I am so glad you are mine. Uncle Dennis, we love you and miss you more then you can imagine. Thank you for helping build such a strong and well made family, and. thank you for loving us all!

Life of a college kid

2011-09-18T21:53:00.002-05:00

Wow, it has been so long since the last time I updated you all on the happenings of our lives! The good news is.... you haven't missed much! Between school and work there hasn't been time for much else! I ~~like~~ LOVE my pre-k class I have at Faith Lutheran School and I am so blessed with such wonderful co-workers! Life for me has been so great lately-- He keeps blessing me in so many new ways each and every day and I am so thankful for them all! One thing I have learned recently is that God has blessed me with a strong and close knit family... I am not talking about my mom and dad and sisters. We already knew that I am VERY thankful for those. What I am talking about it my FAMILY. If you don't know our family then you wouldn't quite understand. We are not your average family.. I will elaborate more on this in my next post... the subjects I want to touch on really deserve their own post! Back to life... I am currently getting ready for Cotton Harvest Festival with my business stuff. It has been super crazy and a lot of work but I am so excited to see how well it goes. If it were not for my Grandma, I wouldn't have been able to make it happen! But thanks to her hard work and support, we're just about there! This is really all my life has consisted of lately....pretty boring right?

busy!

2011-08-07T18:33:00.001-05:00

non-stop, crazy, busy! that is my life in 3 words! I moved into my new place last weekend and I have busy setting everything up and getting things put away! I am dying to write a blog with lots of cute pictures but I cannot seem to find the time to do so! Maybe by the end of this week I will be able to ( I can hope anyway). It has been so hot here in the 'ville which makes being busy that much worse! My apartment is right next to the pool and I haven't gotten to go for a dip yet :( bummer I know! Hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer before school starts up! Stay cool.

What I learned at school this week...

2011-07-21T21:07:00.000-05:00

This week, I have worked almost double the hours I usually work-- It has been super ~~wild~~ crazy this week but I absolutely adore the kiddos I work with so in the end, it is at least enjoyable! The best thing about being around a class full of 3 year olds is that you always learn something new from them ( yes, even though I am the teacher, I do believe I am the one who learns the most each day) I work with another girl named Hayley and throughout the morning we are together and then I have them alone for the afternoon. Hayley and I are always cracking up at what they say or do! They are so ~~humorous~~ comical! This week, they were extra full of it!

Boy's don't toot, they fart:
On Monday, I subbed in the other 3 year old class. We went outside to play on the playground and a little boy named Henry came and sat down beside me! We started talking and laughing when along came his little friend Case. Case sat down and started talking with us. This went on for a few minutes when suddenly, Henry passed gas. Being that I am a girl teacher, I just sorta ignored it and ~~hoped~~ prayed he wouldn't comment about it-- lesson number 1, if boys pass gas, they will tell you about it! Henry looked at me all bright eyed and said "Hey, I tooted". I didn't know how to respond but little did I know, I wouldn't have to worry about coming up with one. Case looked at Henry with that " WHAT ON EARTH" sort of face and said "Henry, boys don't toot, we fart"! Henry told Case that his mommy had told him that toot was the polite word to use instead but Case wasn't having it-- toot just wasn't manly enough! lesson number 2, Elizabeth is so not cut out to be a boy mom if this is the conversations boys hold!

Baby 'Love'
The kids I work with are the kids who had Miss Molly as their teacher last school year. Miss Molly came to visit them this week and they had so much to tell her-- including how ~~big~~ "ginormous' her belly is ( Thank you pregnancy) Miss Molly is around 7 months pregnant so even though the kids knew she had a baby in her belly before school let out, she is much bigger then she was then. She likes to joke with the kids and tell them that this (her baby bump) is what happens when you eat too much chips and salsa (aka her cravings).... Today, as we were all enjoying our cupcakes, a little girl named Morgan blurted out, " Miss Elizabeth is there a baby in your belly?"----Whoa! huh? Of course, then all of my sweet little girls started screaming 'We want you to have a baby Miss Elizabeth'!! I looked at them all crazy and said, "No there is not a baby in my belly. Why did you ask me that?" Morgan then said to me, " Because I like you and you are nice and I think you would be a good mommy Miss Elizabeth." Awe, how sweet!

That little statement was seriously to sweet, I loved it! Luke and I know that one day, when God is ready, we will be married and some day after that, He will bless us with sweet, little babies-- but today is not that day, and this is the response I have been able to come up with to this topic of having my own babies!

To my sweet little Love,
You have not even been thought about being put into creation yet, and still there are so many people who are ready to meet you! I have little girls in my class who say they think I will be a good mommy-- I really hope so! I want to be a good mommy to you when God tells your daddy and I that it is time to welcome a new person to our family! I can't wait to show you all sorts of fun things and teach all you need to know! I look forward to having a special little person to share all of my love with! Even though I don't know you yet, I love you already! You may not understand that, but that's ok. I hear it's a mom thing! So take your time in making your grand appearance. We are so excited to meet you, but we want you to come when God says its time!
With love,
Your Mommy

For this child, I prayed...

2011-07-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

This last week flew by me! I was looking forward to doing my design week pieces on each day of the week but as usual, life got in the way! On Tuesday I worked my usual 10 hour shift and was asked to come in on Wednesday to help out for a few hours. I worked Thursday and Friday and have been in the process of setting up a website to sell my bows and other cute crafts so the week flew by way to fast.

Something happened this week that has truly saddened my heart....

Our preachers 4 month old daughter passed away on Sunday and the funeral was Wednesday so we were super short handed at work. Naturally, I did not mind coming in at all, but I was curious about what had happened to this sweet little girl.... You can read about baby Samantha's life at this website. I do not know the family personally but I was truly touched by the journals and story of their life over the past few months. Pastor Travis and his wife Stephanie lost a son (Jonah, stillborn) in 2003 and now lost their sweet baby girl Samantha and have no other children. My heart truly aches for this family and I feel like I cannot say enough prayers for them. I find myself praying for them every minute I turn around. I truly cannot imagine experiencing something that awful. On Wednesday afternoon, I sat down to work on some bows and bow holders but I couldn't get this family off of my mind. It is so strange to me how inspiration comes to you at the strangest times... As I was sitting there trying to motivate myself to work and thinking about the Pittock family, a bible verse came to me.

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
1 Samuel 1:27

All too often, we forget how truly special children are....People take for granted how blessed they are to be able to conceive, carry a child, and enjoy getting to watch them learn and grow. I pray that one day, the Pittock family will get to experience parenthood! When this verse came to me, I knew what I wanted to make...

So in honor of Baby Samantha, I made this bow holder! Rest In Peace Sweet Angel! Please pray for the Pittock family as they mourn the loss of Samatha!

End of Summer Bash

2011-07-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

Did you hear the news?! You're Invited!!

We are so excited for our End of Summer Bash! This will be the first time to show off Elizabeth's new apartment and have friends over for a night of food and fun. Can't make it?-- No problem, we will have a special tab dedicated to the details of our little get together! We can't wait! Hope to see you soon.

Elizabeth & Luke

It's Design Week!

2011-07-10T10:15:00.014-05:00

Elizabeth-- Hey everyone! It's Design Week here on our blog! Everyday will feature a different room of the house and give ideas on how to decorate, setup, etc. Maybe you'll find a little inspiration! I am ~~very~~ extremely excited for design week-- considering this is what I am getting a degree in, I better love it right?! Check in each day for new posts on new rooms-- oh and don't forget to answer the poll question on the left side of our blog page. The poll questions will be accessible everyday until Sunday, July 17th at midnight!

Elizabeth

Happy Birthday!

2011-07-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth:
Happy Birthday to my amazing step dad, Robby Layne!!

Since I am back in Huntsville already, I did call and wish him a Happy Birthday and talked to him on the phone for a few minutes! Someone managed to talk him into taking the day off from work so he was able to stay home and have a better birthday then being at work! Yay for that!

I am super bummed I couldn't be there to help celebrate today but in spirit of his birthday, I did bake a cake!

I have never baked a strawberry cake before but for some reason that is what kind of cake I wanted today so that is what I made. Even though it is a box cake mix, I did make my own from scratch icing. No worries, I will post the recipe so you all can try it if you get brave! I promise it is so much better then the stuff you buy in the can.

Hope everyone has had a great day.

--Elizabeth.

That's just how GOD made me.

2011-07-05T22:04:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth: The title to this post is really the whole story, but let me explain....

Today was my first day back to work and I have been assigned to Miss Hayley's 3 year old class. I work from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm every Tuesday and Thursday... Being a girl and all, 7:30 is quite killer. The women reading this can relate. I mean, that is super early to be at work-- and there is so much to do before you leave... shower, blow dry hair, straighten hair, get dressed, apply make up, eat breakfast, pack your lunch, pack your purse, put on shoes, grab your things, and rush out the door.... I had my alarm sat for 6 am. That would give me time to get up and get ready and out the door to where I would hopefully not be running late! Well, for the most part I did pretty good. I took a bath, did my hair and make up ( not without tons of complaining), got my lunch ready and got to the point where I was ready to leave. Capri was not having it. I think I heard her barking still from the second floor, so I had to go back and move her from where I had her pinned up to somewhere different, hoping that it would help stop the barking-- WRONG! She didn't stop barking and I didn't stop to go back and move her ( I know, mean Mommy)....

On the way to work I was thinking to myself 'Gee, I did really good this morning: I'm not running late, I have all of my things, and I even managed to grab breakfast.' As I approached the upcoming stoplight, I looked into my mirror and started applying lipgloss & instantly started pointing out and complaining about my flaws-- my hair looked awful, my face looked pale, and I felt so unattractive! Who cares right-- I am going to work and I could only hope my hair would still be the same color when I got home. These 3 year olds don't care what you look like.... Lesson One for the day, they don't care, but they do notice.

As my kids were coming into class, they all found a puzzle and we all visited and enjoyed our morning. Wyatt, who had not been at school in 31 days because of vacation, showed up and everyone was so excited to see him; except something was different about Wyatt. The kids were all asking about Wyatt's stay with his grandparents and were happily talking about their weekends when another child asked, " Wyatt, why aren't you wearing your glasses?" You see, Wyatt is one of those children that most people have rarely seen without glasses. He has had them since the time he was about 12 months old so this was new to all of his classmates! Wyatt then told us that while staying at his grandparents house, his cousin had accidentally broken his glasses but ensured us they were in the process of getting fixed! His friend then said, " Wyatt, you look weird without your glasses." With this little comment, I half way expected a fist fight to break out but was completely surprised when Wyatt had the most simple, yet perfect reply. Wyatt said to his friend, "Well that is just how God made me." Wyatt was not ashamed of how he looked or even embarrassed. At most, he was somewhat frustrated that he could not see well. He was exactly how God made him, and that was enough for him!

After overhearing this conversation take place, I was happy. Happy to see that young children are learning about God. Happy that I got to work with these kids. and Happy that Wyatt was happy with who he is, just as God made him. Although, I was the adult in the room, that small 3 year old boy reminded me of a valuable lesson-- it's not about what we wish we could look like or be like, it's about who God wants us to be and the special person He has created in each and every one of us.

Elizabeth

Hey Y'all!

2011-07-04T18:07:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth: Welcome to Our New blog! As you know, I love to blog and do my best to keep everyone informed on what is going on in our lives-- but recently I have not done such a good job (Oops!) Luke and I have had such a busy summer up until this point and there are no signs that it's going to slow down anytime soon! Since you haven't heard from this college duo in awhile, let me update you on what you've missed over the last 6 weeks.....

When the Spring semester ended at the end of May, Luke and I headed home to spend some much needed time at home with our families. The last weekend of May, my moms side of the family packed up and headed to....

Raider Land!

That's right, my Uncle, Cory Beckner, is now a graduate from the Nursing School at Texas Tech! (Wreck 'em Tech) We had such a fun weekend just getting to hang out and visit with the whole family! We went swimming and ordered pizza and really enjoyed ourselves!

Luke's family went on vacation just a few weeks ago as well....only their's was a little more tropical then Lubbock, Texas..

Carnival Cruise!

Talk about jealous! The Randolph clan went on a 7 day cruise to Mexico! Although Luke lost most of his money gambling, he still seemed to have a good time! We did learn however, that 7 days without talking to each other was longer then either of us care to go! Luke brought me back a sweet little something from his vacation-- Pearls! Don't I have a keeper!?

Luke and I have both signed leases for the upcoming school year for new places to live. Luke will be living in a 4 bedroom villa at The Villas on Sycamore and I will be living in a one bedroom apartment at Woodcreek Apartments! We are both very excited to get moved into our new places!

While Luke was gone on his trip, my grandparents and I spent many hours preparing for my move in to my new apartment and working on my new little side business I have going! I am now a vendor at Snickelbritches in Temple. I make hair bows and bow holders and we got that all set up and under way! We also got all of the shelfs painted, furniture bought and most of the decorations bought while I was there as well. There isn't much left to do before move in day... which is only 26 days away!!

Although I had a nice little break from work, I am now back in Huntsville so I can go back to work this week! I am really looking forward to seeing all of the little ones but not looking forward to being there at 730 am (YIKES)! The worst part about being back in Huntsville is that we are alone-- no Luke! Luke starts summer school on July 18th so it's just me & Capri until the middle of August-- bummer!! Luckily, I think we will get a weekend with him soon!

...there, I think we got you all caught up (I hope so anyway). The good thing about the new blog is-- not only will I be posting, Luke will be too... don't get too excited, it may only be once a month that we see something from him but I made him promise he would help keep it updated with me! Hope everyone has enjoyed catching up and the 4th of July holiday! God Bless!